A Lubbock Light: Cooper senior Blake Sherman has learned hard work pays off in showing pigs

By Terry Greenberg

This is the first in a series of columns on people who are making a positive impact in our community … in other words, A Lubbock Light.

Maybe Blake Sherman’s path was already set when his parents met at an agriculture convention in high school and butted heads running for the same office.

Or maybe it was when he started showing pigs in the third grade in Future Farmers of America.

Or when he started picking up how to be an auctioneer watching his dad – a world champion auctioning automobiles.

The Cooper High School senior plans to attend Texas Tech University, major in agriculture communications and follow his dad into the auctioneer trade.

The money Blake has made from showing pigs will pay for his college education, he said, and the work associated with those pigs has given him life lessons he appreciates.

‘It teaches you a good work ethic and how to speak to people.’

“It teaches you a good work ethic and how to speak to people,” said Blake.

Blake followed his sister in livestock and his little sisters will follow him, he said.

He wakes up at 7:20 a.m. and feeds his pigs in a barn his former high school ag teacher lets them use.

Blake then goes to school, leaves at 2:15 for a work program and goes back to the farm around 5:30.

He cleans out the pens, brings the pigs into a walking pen and walks them ten minutes each. He has 17 pigs so the whole thing takes about 2½ hours.

The Cooper High senior then goes home, has dinner, does homework and goes to bed around midnight.

Roughly seven hours later, he does it all over again.

Social life? ‘Not really … I have my phone for that.’

Social life?

“Not really – I have my phone for that,” he said.

He’s learned dedication and commitment.

“I don’t want anything handed to me – I want to make it on my own and be successful,” said Blake, adding he wants to teach his children and the generations following him the work ethic they’ll need.

“They’ll have to work to make a living – it just won’t come to you,” he said.

The most money he’s ever made selling a pig was $13,000.

The most money he’s ever made selling a pig was $13,000.

Students get money for their pigs if they get a good place in judging.

Blake said the average price he’s gotten for most of his pigs that place well is between $5-$10,000.

“Some of my friends think it’s weird you can make this much money showing pigs and ask why I do all this work. I’m not going to get it handed to me,” he said.

He says he already has enough set aside to cover his four years at Tech.

After that, he’s ready to talk fast.

His dad started auctioneering when he was 18 and travels to Dallas and Abilene to sell cars.

He has a condo in Dallas.

“It’s in the family and I’m pretty good at it,” said Blake, adding his grandfather has also been an auctioneer.

“It’s good money, I’m passionate about it and you can yell,” he said.

Blake said his father is understandable, funny and has charisma – all traits that do well in competition.

His dad and grandfather also won a world team competition.

Terry Greenberg

Terry Greenberg is editor and business manager of Lubbock Lights. He worked in the newspaper industry for almost 40 years, 33 of those as editor of eight newspapers in five states. He was editor of the Avalanche-Journal from 2006-2015. He now runs his own media company, Greenberg Media Management. He is a native of Los Angeles and loves living in Lubbock, Texas.